Road Cycling - Temperature and leg wear

How low do you go on the thermometer before you wear pants/leg warmers?

Dumb question, I know. I'm just wondering if I'm nuts for wearing shorts on some days. lol. The first couple miles are a bit chilly but then I warm right up...

My personal limit is around 50 degreese fahrenheit (10 Celsius). Even at that temp, i'll take my arm warmers, anything colder requires tights.

I guess 50 F sounds right. I can get by w/o once I warm up, but if I stop riding to take a break or wait up for the group, I get cold. It seems that once my leg warmers are on, I never get too hot! They breath very well, but they certainly take the bite out of the air...

Mike

In My neck of the woods, I don't leave home with out the tights. I just put them on underneath my shorts and away I go. I don't really care what I look like, as long as I stay warm!

I read somewhere that you should have your knees covered when you ride at below 65 deg F. The working parts of the knees have very little flesh keeping them warm. They need protection from the cold to function right. Around here, the daytime highs hover in the sixties much of the year. Even on a warm day, I tend to have arms warmers and even leg warmers rolled up in my pockets.

Today was so bright and sunny and in the sixties so I decided to ride in shorts. What a mistake. The canyons were frigid and my knees took the brunt of the cold on the fast descents.

Rich

I read somewhere that you should have your knees covered when you ride at below 65 deg F. The working parts of the knees have very little flesh keeping them warm

yeah, as i've had some knee overuse problems, i try and keep my knees warm. when it's not cold enough to warrant tights, but still chilly, i almost always take my leg warmers and then roll them up to cover just my knees on a long climb or if i get too warm. then for a long downhill i roll them back down. leg warmers and arm warmers are great! easy-on, easy-off

i guess about 5-10C (41-50F) is also about the point where i put on the tights.

then below -10/-5C (14-23F) is when i switch to the windproof fleece tights (or if the wind is really strong and it's just below 0C)

Depends on whether it is sunny, cloudy, windy, etc. If my knees get cold I'm in trouble.

If it is sunny and little or no wind I will wear shorts down to about 50-54 degrees.
If it is cloudy/overcast I will wear shorts down to about 60 degrees.
Don't forget wind = wind chill factor.

Anything colder and I wear tights or tights and shorts.
It hasn't been cold enough yet to try two pairs of tights. I've never tried this before. Will the second pair offer much additional protection from the cold/wind?

As long as my upper body is warm, I'm usually fine in shorts. I haven't been in cold weather for awhile, but I can usually hang out in shorts until the 40's or so.

I guess I am a little too slow to put the leg warmers on. lol. I'm good for lower 40's...then I start thinking about leg warmers. Today was 19 - 25 and I wore a couple layers up top and shorts/tights.

Still froze my @#$ off. :eek: I really need to invest in a balaclava.

i always tend to over dress anyway...
the hard part is starting out anyway.
so goes the hands and feet so goes the ride.

I know that I am probably sounding defensive, but I really believe in proper warmth. Yesterday I wore my leg warmers even though the temps were in the mid to upper sixties. I was a little warm at first, but was happy in the redwood forest and even happier yet when the onshore winds off the ocean came ripping across the flats. I felt so good, I could have ridden forever. I had good mph (for me, that is) and my legs felt great. I saw several members of an LBS-sponsored team, and most of them had leg warmers on.

Sometimes what we wear on the bike is a question of vanity. It's hard to resist looking and feeling tough and muscular. Hey, I've seen folks wearing shot-sleeved jerseys when the temps are in the 50s, but the sun is out. We know what that's all about, but is it worth the UV damage?

You gotta be tough to dress warm. The other day, on an otherwise great ride, some a**hole CalTrans worker said "You look like Rumpelstiltskin" to me as I rode by. But hey, I was out on a great ride and he was digging some hole on the side of the road.

Rich

Some rules of thumb for knee protection/covering:

60' to 70' depending on humidity and precipitation, if it's wet out cover 'em at 70' if it's dry cover at 60'

NEVER ride with bare knees below 60'

If the wind feels cool or cold on your arms- cover your knees

If it's cold enough for a jacket- cover your knees

If your knees are "bad" be extral careful

One layer of Lycra (tights/kneewarmers) is only good to about 40',
below 40' double up with extra tights, longjohns etc., or wear tights with heavier material Wool , "brushed" or thicker lycra, lycra with wind panels etc.

Ride Warm
Pat

In our climate rarely does the daytime temp. drop below 50 degrees... Also, if my top is warm, I can withstand a little cold, once you warm up... On descents arm and ocassionally leg warmers are great inventions.. It seems often the difference between the sun hiding behind the clouds makes the ease with which arm warmers can be rolled up and down convenient..

pat5319 almost exactly nailed my routine. Around 60F, I have a thin pair of tights I put on. It isn't a comfort thing so much as keeping some warmth to encourage circulation. Below about 45F, the thin tights are replaced with heavier tights. These are adequate for the temps I have to deal with. FWIW, daytime temps around here drop into the 20s occasionally, but not often lower. At those lower temps, face and fingers are the problem... neoprene booties are adequate for the feet.

To be honest, I think some of the dire warnings about exposed knees is a bit over-blown. If course, it could just be my knees. I'll usually -- but not always -- wear knee warmers below 15C (59F), and I go to tights below about 10C (50F), but I've often found knee warmers to be excessive on sunny days around 12C (54F). MOreover, I simply will not wear tights for cyclo-cross, and that usually takes place in temps below 12C.

I find 3/4 length tights and leg warmers quite a good combination for very cold days - extra warmth on the knees but not too hot.

Richard

I'd say 50's deserve knee warmers for myself. If it's sunny and in the high 40's, maybe still just warmers. Below that, it's some permutation of leg warmers, knee warmers, tights and gore tex when it's really raw outside.